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A driver didn’t follow that advice, and gunshots were fired at her SUV about 4:30 p.m. on
Tuesday on the Rt. 33 Lancaster bypass in Fairfield County. Deputy sheriffs were called to the
scene.

The caller told a dispatcher that a white GMC pickup with Texas plates and pulling a trailer had
cut her off near Hamburg Road while both were westbound. When the driver honked her horn, the
pickup occupants responded first with obscene gestures and then with three rounds of gunfire,
according to the incident report.

No one was injured, and the pickup exited at Rt. 22. Deputies stopped the truck and found a
loaded, .45-caliber, semi-automatic handgun in the trailer.

Three men, all from Dallas, were charged. They also are in the country illegally and have been
referred to federal immigration authorities, Sheriff Dave Phalen said.

• • •

The Central Ohio Transit Authority has answered the question: “Cloth or fiberglass?”

The agency was curious what its customers prefer for bus seats.

COTA has been running one bus — the No. 1319 on the No. 89 line — with new fiberglass seats
(they look like plastic) and asking customers through an online survey what they think. The
response has been “overwhelming in favor of the fiberglass,” spokesman Marty Stutz said.

The agency seems to like them, too. Stutz said the seats are easier and cheaper to maintain than
cloth because they don’t require shampoo and dry faster. They also give the agency a small price
break when it buys new buses — about $1,000 for a 40-foot bus.

The agency buys dozens of buses each year and will begin ordering those with fiberglass seats,
Stutz said. It also will evaluate the cost of replacing seats in its existing fleet.

• • •

Columbus’ Vehicle for Hire board is trying to stay ahead of the curve.

The board sets rules for taxicabs, limousines, pedicabs and other services.

Now it’s trying to determine how to regulate an on-demand vehicle service that is expected to
come to Columbus.

The vehicles are booked through smartphone applications such as Lyft and Uber. The board is
worried about not having standards for driver background checks and consumer protection.

“Cities are struggling with how to regulate them,” said Ramona Patts, board chairwoman.